Clinical and molecular epidemiologic analyses of norovirus-associated sporadic gastroenteritis in adults from Beijing, China.

Noroviruses (NoVs) are a major cause of nonbacterial acute gastroenteritis. The molecular epidemiology of NoV infections in China has not been well characterized. To study the incidence of NoV infections and the nature of the circulating NoV genotypes, 403 specimens were collected from adult outpatients with acute gastroenteritis in Beijing, China, between October 2007 and September 2008. Samples were examined for NoV by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and sequences corresponding to both the NoV polymerase and capsid regions were characterized. Among the 403 specimens, 48 (11.9%) were positive for NoV and 1/3 NoV-associated gastroenteritis cases occurred during the colder months (November and December). Based on polymerase region sequences, 6 NoV genotypes (GII-4, GII-b, GII-6, GI-2, GI-3, and GI-4) were identified with GII-4 2006b being the most predominant genotype (37/48, 77.1%). Eleven distinct genotype sequences in polymerase and capsid regions were identified, indicating a genetic diversity among NoV isolates. This study suggested NoVs were an important pathogen responsible for sporadic acute gastroenteritis in adults in Beijing, China.